Justice Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai will be the 52nd Chief Justice of India (CJI) from May 14, 2025. He is succeeding outgoing CJI Justice Sanjiv Khanna, who retires on May 13. In line with the conventional seniority norm, the name of Justice Gavai was proposed by Justice Khanna to the Union Law Ministry for his record appointment.
Hailing from Amravati in Maharashtra, Justice Gavai was born on November 24, 1960. He is the son of the late Ramkrishna Gavai, a veteran parliamentarian and founder of the Republican Party of India (RPI). His father also served as Governor of Bihar, Sikkim, and Kerala between 2006 and 2011. Justice Gavai’s ascent to the top judicial post makes him the second Dalit to become CJI, after Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, who held the office from 2007 to 2010.
Justice Gavai began his legal career in 1985, serving as a government pleader and prosecutor for Maharashtra. He was made judge of the Bombay High Court on November 14, 2003, for which he remained there for 16 years. On May 24, 2019, he was upgraded to the Supreme Court.
While he was serving in the supreme court, one of the key contributions that Justice Gavai made was being a member of the constitutional bench that upheld the revocation of Article 370 and the consequent bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into Union Territories.
Justice Gavai will be CJI for about six months and retire on November 24, 2025. His elevation is a milestone in India’s judicial history, ushering in diversity and representation at the top of the judiciary.
